Kolkata, February 23: Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured their second win of the Indian Super League, defeating Chennaiyin FC 2–0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Monday evening. A first-half breakthrough set the tone before a Controlled second-half display sealed the result.
The first half kicked off with both teams showing intent, but Mohun Bagan Super Giant held a tight grip on the game. The Mariners crafted the first promising chance when Robson delivered a corner into the box. The ball fell to Thapa outside the area, whose long-range effort closely missed the target.
In the 30th minute, Clifford Miranda was forced into a change after a collision during a Mohun Bagan Super Giant attack, when Mohammad Nawaz collided with Mehtab Singh and both went down. Mehtab recovered and continued, but Nawaz could not. Samik Mitra came on to guard the net for Chennaiyin FC.
In the 42+2 minute, Chennaiyin FC earned a chance to score when Abhisekh Theckham stopped Iñigo near the left edge of the box and conceded a free kick. However, Bemmamer’s effort was not accurate enough to bring a goal for the Marina Machans.
But the Mariners did not miss their golden chance. After several shots and seven corners, the final execution was still missing, until Jamie Maclaren made it count. Winning the ball in midfield, Anirudh Thapa played a pinpoint through ball for Maclaren, who calmly placed it into the net, slipping past the Chennaiyin FC keeper.
But the second half belonged to Dimitrios Petratos. He not only secured the match scoring the second goal in front of everyone, but also delivered a reminder of what he had done exactly one year ago in the Shield decider for Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Tonight’s strike felt like a reincarnation of that moment, maintaining the Mariners’ charge and answering their demand once again.
In the 65th minute, Subhasish Bose delivered an inch-perfect cross from the right into the box, where Dimitrios Petratos connected well to place the ball into the net. Within three minutes, Petratos got another chance, again created by Subhasish, but this time his effort went narrowly wide.
Apart from those moments from Dimi, Mohun Bagan Super Giant played neat, attacking football with sharp passing, creating more than fifteen shots. On the other side, Clifford Miranda’s balanced mix of experienced players and youngsters was largely forced into defending, managing only two shots in return.
Sergio Lobera was pleased with the Mariners side’s overall display, particularly the control and attacking intent shown after the break. While he felt the team could have been sharper in front of goal, the positive performance and the result were clear signs of progress. Lobera said, “I am very happy with the performance of the team, especially in the second half. It’s true we had chances to score more goals and we need to be more critical about this because in the previous press conference we could be a pusher at the end of the season in goal defence. But I am happy because the most important thing is to generate chances. I am sure with the level of the players we have, we are going to score more goals in the next games if we have the opportunity. Today, the day for the players was amazing and I am happy with the result and also with the performance, especially in the second half.”
The Chennaiyin FC head coach pointed to fine margins and physical fatigue as the key factors behind the result of his teams. He felt his side’s plan worked for large periods, but a lapse just before halftime changed the momentum. With a short turnaround between matches and travel limiting recovery time, sustaining the same intensity became difficult in the second half. Clifford Miranda said after the match “It was almost successful in the first half, but we conceded in stoppage time before the break, and that’s where things went slightly astray. In the second half, we had the same approach, the only difference was our physical condition, and that’s because we didn’t have enough recovery. The match gap was really short, we had to travel, and we didn’t get the proper time.
After two rounds of matches, four teams have six points, Emami East Bengal FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mumbai City FC, and Jamshedpur FC. However, on goal tally, East Bengal sits at the top with six goals, while Mohun Bagan SG occupy second place with four goals.
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